Ornaments worth 4,000 stolen
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 22 — Gold and silver ornaments worth Rs 4,000 were reportedly stolen from a house in Mauli Jagran last night.

According to the police, a case under Section 380 of the IPC has been registered on a complaint lodged by Mr Radhey Shyam Tripathi, but no arrest has been made so far.

4 arrested: In another incident, four persons were arrested from Sector 22 for indulging in a quarrel at a public place.

Those who were arrested have been identified as Ramesh Chaudhary, Varinder Pal Gupta, Vijay and Dolly. A case has been registered.

Quarrel: Parminder Singh Jassi, a resident of Modern Housing Complex was arrested for allegedly threatening and picking up a quarrel with Mr Ram Krishan, also a resident of the same complex.

A case under Sections 448, 427 and 380 and 34 of the IPC has been registered.

Cheating case: The local police has registered a case of cheating against three persons of a Sector 35-based private company on the basis of a complaint lodged by a resident of Sector 10, Mr Munish Khullar.

Mr Khullar in his complaint lodged said he was cheated to the tune of several lakhs of rupees by the three persons of the company, M.P. Singh, Baljinder Singh and Pawan Kumar.

A case has been registered under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC.

PANCHKULA

Criminal assault: An FIR has been lodged with the police post in Sector 6 here by Ms Palika Monga against seven persons for criminal assault, home trespass and criminal intimidation.

In her complaint, she has alleged that Ravi Monga, Manju Monga, Varun Monga, Shikha Monga, Rakesh Kumar, Sunil Kumar and Lucky, staying on the first floor of the same house, forcibly entered her house while her father was alone at home. They manhandled her maid-servant.

SAS NAGAR

Suicide: A 30-year-old woman of Phase IV here allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan in the house of her in-law on Saturday night.

The deceased, Sushma Singh, was married last year.

Though the exact reasons of the suicide could not be ascertained, a police official said the deceased had left a suicide note saying that she was committing suicide.

The police has initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC.

Fall in garlic price
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 22—The prices of some of the commonly used vegetables have witnessed a fluctuation in the local market during the past four days.

During a survey of markets, it was found that if a kg of cauliflower was priced at Rs 40 during the past fortnight, it could be purchased today between Rs 30 to Rs 35. The wholesale price of the same has come down from Rs 170 to Rs 140-150 per 5 kg. Similarly, a kg of cabbage, priced at Rs 16 a kg in retail market , could be had today for Rs 14. The wholesale price of the same has come down from Rs 60 to Rs 50 per 5 kg during this period.

carrot has become costly during this period. A kg of the vegetable, priced at Rs 30 last week, was priced at Rs 40 today.

The wholesale price has increased from Rs 130 to Rs 170 per 5 kg during this period. The price of 'arbi' has also jumped from Rs 16 to Rs 20 in the retail and from Rs 60 to Rs 80 per 5 kg in the wholesale market.

Traders attributed the hike in the price of cauliflower and other vegetables to less arrivals in the market during this period.

Another vegetable, the price of which has jumped considerably was capsicum. A kg of the vegetable, available for Rs 24 last week, was priced today at Rs 32 in different sector markets. The wholesale price of the same has increased from Rs 100 to Rs 130 per 5 kg during this period. Sources in the market said there was little arrival of the vegetable from different parts of Himachal Pradesh. One could have'tori' after paying Rs 24 for a kg of it.

More arrivals from Punjab have ensured a dip in the price of lady's finger. A kg of the vegetable, priced at Rs 20 last week, was available today for Rs 16 in the retail market, while it could had in the wholesale market for Rs 60 per 5 kg.

The price of beans has also gone up. A kg of the vegetable, priced at Rs 20 four days ago, could be had today for Rs 28. The wholesale price has gone up from Rs 80 to Rs 120 per 5 kg due to less arrivals from Himachal Pradesh. On the other hand, if a kg of radish could be purchased today for Rs 20 during last week, it was priced today in the market for Rs 16.

The price of garlic has also come down from Rs 40 to Rs 30 in retail and from Rs 170 to Rs 130 per 5 kg in the wholesale market. Similarly, if one could purchase a kg of green coriander for Rs 100, the same quantity of green chillies could be had for Rs 10.

Executive Magistrates

The Chandigarh Administration has to notify from time to time the delegation of powers to provincial Civil Services officers other than those in civil magistracy or Executive Magistrates. Recently five officers had joined the Administration. Now they have been appointed Executive Magistrates for the entire Union Territory of Chandigarh. The officers are Mr D.S. Saroya, Director of Public Instructions (Schools); Mr Satya Pal Arora, Director Public Relations; Mr Ashok Sanghwan, Chief General Manager, CITCO; Mr T.S. Dhaliwal, Secretary, Municipal Corporation; and Mr Ashok Vasisth, Assistant Commissioner, Municipal Corporation.

Meanwhile, the Administration has decided to give to Mr Satish Joshi, Deputy Controller (F&A) Rent, additional charge of Under Secretary (Finance) for the Departments of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Rural Development, Forest, Environment, Science and Technology, Economic and Statistical Cell. This has been done as a special measure.

Punjabi Sabha : Mr Gopi Chand, a city-based lawyer and a former member and Secretary of the Haryana Public Service Commission, who also headed Haryana Punjabi Welfare Sabha, has decided to contest from Karnal in the coming Lok Sabha elections. He will oppose former Chief Minister and Member of the Lok Sabha, Mr Bhajan Lal.

He says that there is great resentment among Punjabi settlers in Haryana against all political parties for not nominating any candidate of Punjabi community in the Lok Sabha elections. Now is the time for the Punjabi community to rally around at least someone and send a message that the community is strong and vibrating and can tilt the scales. He is hopeful that Punjabi community members would not vote for any candidate of any political party and would rather support Independent candidates from their respective constituencies.

Poor are human : Mr Jaspreet Singh, a resident of Sector 44-A, has brought to the notice of Sentinel an incident that took place outside a cinema hall in Sector 34.

On the night of August 13, after the late night show ended at about 1 in the morning, he says he was moving out towards the parking lot when a Maruti Zen (CH01Z 5592) was moving out. The parking attendant asked for the ticket from the driver of the Zen but probably he did not listen. When the attendant again asked for the ticket, the driver got furious and started beating the attendant who got badly injured. He was rushed to be given first aid.

His only fault perhaps was that he belonged to a poor family. Is the price of being a poor so high?" asks Mr Jaspreet Singh.

Concrete city : Though thousands of plants are planted every year in different parts of the City Beautiful by government organisations, NGOs and resident welfare associations, one wonders where these plants go and why the city is still called a "concrete city" and not a "green city"?

Going by the number of saplings planted every year, every inch, or at least every yard of the city should have a beautiful tree, but why it is not so ?

Horticulture experts feel that instead of going in for planting of trees after the very first shower of monsoons, those intending to plant trees should exercise some restraint and wait for the second week of August, when half of monsoon is over. If planted at this time, the dainty roots of plant, which are already under shock of transplantation do not get burnt with the heat which emanates from the soil after the first rain. Any takers?

Self-goal : Though cleanliness is becoming a thing of the past in the City Beautiful with each passing day and the presence of heaps of garbage in residential areas is all pervasive, the residents of Sector 23-A are facing an entirely different problem, created by the Health Department of the Municipal Corporation itself.

Scores of discarded and even new wheel-barrows have been dumped by the department officials in an open space near a row of houses (from No 280 to 285). The wheel-barrows, which are virtually lying there in heaps, have become a source of inconvenience for residents as in addition to creating foul smell, the dump has proved to be an ideal breeding place for deadly insects and even snakes. Moreover, what has caused anguish to them is the indifferent attitude of the authorities, who have failed to remove these even as the residents have complained a couple of times.

Passion overcomes handicap
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Aug 22 — Close on the heels of Horst Schad of Germany, who was in the city yesterday on a world tour on bicycle, Gobinda Das, a handicapped railway employee from Siliguri today cycled to the city from Delhi on his way to Siachen Glacier (Base).

Das said his mission, which would end at Khardungla Pass (18,383 ft high), would be a homage to Kargil martyrs. He had completed the Trans Himalayan solo cycle expedition in 1996 and covered 3,453 km in 43 days, entering his name in the Limca book of records.

Das aimed to play sport at the international level but he met with an accident in 1993 and was handicapped. He is posted at Siliguri in West Bengal.

Das started his journey from India Gate in Delhi on August 20 and plans to reach the target of 1,463 km by October 24. When asked about sponsorship, he said nobody had come forward. He uses Hercules bicycles without gears.

He said earlier the same journey was covered by 19 persons of the Corps of signals on motorcycles and he would be the the first to do this solo expedition on bicycle. He would cover Rohtang, Baralcha and Lachlangla, before reaching Siachen.

He admitted that sometimes his foot got swollen but the passion made him move on after having medicines to ease the pain. He usually covers 50 km at a stretch before taking any rest.

Khalsa, Liberty win

On the third day of the Chandigarh senior football league being played at DAV Senior Secondary School, sector 8, Youngsters Club, Sanjay Football Club, City cops club, Khalsa club, Liberty club, Chandigarh Football Club and Maruti Football club registered victories over their opponents.

In the first match, Youngsters club trounced OCF club 6-0. The half time score was 3-0.

In the second match, Sanjay Football club whipped MPS club 8-0. kalarjit and A. Avasthi scored three goals each, with Gopal scoring twice.

In the third match, city cops Club prevailed upon Blue Star Club 8-0. The half time score was 5-0.

Khalsa club downed DAV club 1-0. The goal was scored by Ashwani in 27th minute.

In the fifth match, Liberty club blanked BSS club 2-0. Chetan Sharma opened the account in the 10th minute, followed by Budh Singh in the 30th minute.

Chandigarh Football club defeated Sagar Football club 2-0, with half time score being 1-0. Arvinder Saini scored in the 12th minute and Sohan Negi scored in the 49th minute.

In the last match of the day, Maruti Football club humbled Mouli Football club 7-0. The half time score was 3-0. Brij Mohan, Amit, Atish and Balhar Singh were main scorers.

YMCA Open

The YMCA Open Billiards and Snooker championships began here today, with nearly 50 participants vying for top honours in four events — open billiards, handicap billiards, open snooker and handicap snooker.

the results are: B.K. Khurana b Dinesh Kanwak 53-20, 19-29, 44-15; Manav Dhawan b Eroz Verma 14-51, 34-24, 66-19; Anil Sharma b Anandit Joshi 69-25, 57-13; Aman b B.K. Arora 59-27, 57-24; Rajeev b Bhupinder 53-35, 50-14; Ajay Singla b Sanjeev Verma 40-18, 38-28; Manan Nagpal b Robin 48-24, 55-10; and Preetam b Bahadur 53-36, 32-54, 44-34.

Kwatra stars in win

Superb batting by Narinder Kwatra, who scored 51 runs (n.o.), and all round performance by Daniel Banerjee, who claimed two wickets for 22 runs and scored 25 unbeaten runs, helped CITCO XI beat Central Bank Of India by nine wickets in the Inter-Employees cricket tournament, being played at the Sector 5 grounds, Panchkula. N. Kawatra was declared man of the match.

Brief scores— CBI- 109 all out in 25 overs (Sanjay Bhatia 37, R.N. Puri 25, Manjit 20, Daniel Banerjee 2 for 22, Shiv Kumar 2 for 20); CITCO XI- 111 for one in 17 overs (Narinder Kwatra 51 n.o., Daniel Banerjee 25 n.o.).

In another match, Punjab National Bank got the better of Canara Bank by six wickets. The Canara Bank team was all out for 72 runs, while PNB made 75 runs for the loss of four wickets. Subhodh Bisht scored 40 not out.

HUDA’s dubious role on encroachments

This refers to the news item published in your paper that with the 15 days’ notice to the residents to remove hedges, fences, grills and tow walls from road berms in front of their houses in Panchkula township ending on July 31, HUDA is likely to restart demolition drive in the first week of August.

Actually, HUDA had suspended the demolition drive just to get the certified copy of the order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Now, HUDA has obtained the same and it will resume the demolition drive. Here, HUDA deserves kudos. It is showing activism in carrying out the order of the high court in removing hedges, fences etc. as it considers these as encroachments on the land of HUDA. I ask HUDA one question, what about labour colony known as Madrasi Colony, located within Sector 21? Is it not an encroachment on the prime land of HUDA?

Many residents have beautified small spaces in front of their houses with ornamental plants and flowers and provided protection to these by growing lush green hedges or arranging symmetrical fences and grills. HUDA views these as encroachments. All welfare associations of Panchkula township failed to convince HUDA to view these mini lawns in front of houses from an aesthetic point. HUDA is adamant and not ready to compromise on this issue. It is astonishing and amusing that HUDA is not using the same yard stick in the case of jhuggis. It is ready to allow jhuggi-dwellers to defecate on the berms, at the back and front of the houses and to pollute the entire area.

I may mention the report in The Tribune dated 1.4.99 that at least 70 acre of the prime land is under the possession of jhuggi dwellers. HUDA is losing revenue to the tune of Rs 500 crore.

The question that arises is who bothers about the revenue loss. Vote bank is more important to politicians than the loss of public money.

The high court passed the order pertaining to jhuggi-dwellers on April 19. Ruling was that jhuggi-dwellers who had completed five years of stay at the present place should be given alternative site. Those who had less than five years of stay should be evicted as it is. Here, HUDA is very indifferent and passive in taking action against jhuggi-dwellers. Surprisingly, HUDA is determined to file a special leave petition (SLP) in the apex court against the order of the high court. Dubious role on part of HUDA regarding the issue of encroachment is not understandable.

T.D. Kumar
Panchkula

Soldiers’ kids

This refers to news item “Campaign to educate soldiers’ kids” published in Chandigarh Tribune on July 20, according to which children of soldiers killed in Kargil would be given free education.

This is a very good gesture initiated by an non-government organisation ‘Umeed’ in collaboration with the Army Wives Welfare Association to start a unique “five rupee campaign”.

Our real homage to the heroes of Kargil will be paid if every family comes forward and participates in this campaign by donating Rs 5 for this noble cause so as to help the children of those soldiers who spent sleepless nights and faced bullets for our sake. The government should also extend every possible help to make this endeavour successful.

Sanjay Khurana
Chandigarh

Filth in Sec 17

Le Corbusier conceived and planned Chandigarh as a model and beautiful city. May I ask the Administration, Municipal Corporation and politicians to try to keep this city according to the dreams of its founder.

I fear there is less enthusiasm for keeping it beautiful by the Administration and the Municipal Corporation. They are turning a blind eye towards its upkeep.

Take the example of Sector 17, the city centre . The offices of the Deputy Commissioner, the Municipal Corporation and the Health Department are located in this sector. Its maintenance and upkeep have been neglected. Open spaces seem to have been overwhelmed by garbage, unwanted growth of grass etc, heaps of dug up earth and deep pits.

So much so that early in the morning one can witness labourers and rickshaw-pullers carrying bottles of water in their hands and defecating in open spaces of the sector.

Will the authorities put their heads together and try to solve these problems.

Bant Singh
Chandigarh

Housing Board Chowk

Apropos Ms Khanna’s letter in Chandigarh Tribune dated 1.8.99. May I add that Khanna has missed the other good news for residents of Panchkula. It is that the Housing Board chowk roundabout of Panchkula is going to be dismantled and replaced by traffic lights. The second important news is that the direct road to the railway station from Panchkula is likely to be completed by September ’99. This will greatly reduce the rush on the Chandigarh-Panchkula road. Residents of Panchkula are looking forward to Panchkula as a capital city. It is best suited for the purpose due to it’s beautiful location at the foothills, and has the infrastructure and scope for expansion.

Sakshi and Jyotsna
Chandigarh

Helmet issue

Members of the Sikh Nari Manch and several other Sikh organisations have started weekly protest processions against the order of the Administration for the compulsory wearing of helmet by women drivers and pillion riders.

However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has rejected the SGPC petition on the subject. Keeping in view the growing number of vehicles, this step was necessary. It is expected that there are more than 5 lakh vehicles in the city. This number is really high in proportion to the city’s population.

If Sikh women — drivers and pillion riders — are exempted from wearing helmet, others will also protest against wearing it. We should keep in mind that wearing helmet is for one’s own protection. We should cooperate with the Administration to make this law effective in the city.

Sunil K. Dogra
Chandigarh